God have mercy, she feels good.
“I gotta be able to reach the pedals,” he said against her ear, explaining his closeness. He demonstrated by tapping a pedal with his right foot.
He felt her breath hitch, but she must’ve accepted his excuse for their adhesive-style closeness because she offered no objection. He breathed in the scent of her hair, but refused himself any further luxuries because if he took more, he wouldn’t get through the demonstration without molesting her in some way.
He offered her the sticks, and she took them. He was fucked up in the head, because Fallon clutching his favorite sticks was a definite turn on.
“Nice color.” He tapped one fuchsia colored fingernail before adjusting her grip on the sticks for better control. “Did you have fun being pampered today?”
“Yes.”
“How’d you like the massage?”
“Ooo…that was heaven.”
Maybe one day she’d permit him to give her a Jase-massage. Just having the opportunity to run his hands all over her would be heaven to him. In the meantime he settled for running his thumbs over her fingers as they held the wooden sticks. “What was your favorite part?”
“I don’t know, all of it, or maybe the ice cream afterward.”
He chuckled. My girl has a sweet tooth.
Swirling his thumbs on her knuckles in a circular pattern, he thought her hands were softer. Maybe her hair was a touch shorter, too, but not by much. There were long layers sheared into her hair, and they framed her face in soft waves.
“Thank you for the spa day,” she said, a touch breathy.
“My pleasure.” He ran his palms up and down her arms. “Relax, darlin’, and allow me to lead.” Fallon shivered against him, and he wondered what she was thinking. “Go all loosey-goosey so you can participate while I do all the work.”
“That sounds sexual.” She tilted her head back and knocked him in the chin. At his grunt, she twisted against him, grinding her hip against his cock and he groaned.
“Oh my God! Are you okay? I’m sooo sorry!”
Jase rubbed the sting from his chin. “I’m good.”
Damn shame he couldn’t rub the ache in his groin away. That part of his anatomy was not good.
Cheeks flushed, she stared at him as she shoved his hand aside with an impatient huff and demanded, “Let me see.”
“I’m fine.” He slanted his head back, pleased by her concern despite his lack of injury. “See. Probably not even a red mark.”
She ran her fingers along his chin. Her green gaze lifted to his. After a moment, she nodded and turned back around…again rubbing her hip against his dick.
All the innocent friction against his cock was not helping his sexual drive. He buried his face in her hair, and put his lips against her ear. “If you’ll recall, loosey-goosey isn’t exactly the way I like my women in bed.”
She inhaled sharply.
“That comment wasn’t intended to be sexual. Now….” He repositioned his hands over hers. “‘Allow me to lead you,’ that comment you can take both ways.”
She slanted her eyes in his direction, but he took her on the first amateur set all newbie drummers started with. The basic rat-tat-tat to familiarize her with the moves. Soon she began to loosen up and let him guide her in the loosey-goosey manner he’d asked for. After a good dozen moves, he transitioned to a more difficult set, throwing in the pedals and cymbals for added effect. She’d laughed when he smashed the cymbals and kicked the drum the first time.
“That’s like a workout,” she said when he gave her a moment to rest.
If he glanced downward and peered over her shoulder, he could see the rise and fall of her breasts. He inhaled her scent. God, she drove him crazy.
“My second favorite workout.” His first would be burying his face between her tits or thighs. He couldn’t decide which one he preferred more, so he deemed it a toss-up for first place.
“I can guess what your first favorite workout is.” Amusement tinged her voice, so he didn’t take offense.
“Everyone should participate in what they’re good at.”
She notched her head to the side and angled it just enough she could peek at him over her shoulder. “That’s an excuse to indulge.”
He chuckled. “Guilty as charged. You want more?” He lifted her hands to indicate he meant more drumming.
“Can I take that with a double meaning too?”
Imp. He’d give it to her with a double meaning if she’d accept. “Yeah. Which do you want?”
“Both.”
Shocked, he tightened his thighs against hers. Teasing him in this way would be more than he could manage, and his dick wasn’t sure if it should throb in excitement or distress. “Fallon—”
“Just play the drums for now, Jase. That’s all I can handle right now.”
Taking a deep breath, he exhaled and centered himself. If he were doing this alone, he’d have rolled the sticks along his knuckles before feeding the drums what he felt. He slid his thumbs along her knuckles instead, and then down each finger. A shiver shimmed along her back, and he felt it against his chest. He hoped he was getting to her as much as she’d already gotten to him.
Adjusting his clasp over her hands, he turned his lips against her ear and whispered, “Feel the beat move through you.”
They made the first tap, then the next…until they were moving as one unit. The tune came from his heart. It was wild and electric. In this moment it felt like she was an extension of himself. He’d never felt so connected to another soul in his life. And it scared him, while exciting him at the same time.
It felt as if his emotions spawned the beats, siphoned into her, before being birthed into the best rhythm he’d ever crafted. He was so lost in the beat a good five minutes passed before he finalized the last of the music with a crash. Fallon slumped against him, her breath panting in timing with his. He buried his face against the curve of her neck and shoulder.
An unfamiliar rawness sucker punched him. And an ache clenched his chest. He had no idea what that meant. He’d been creating music for a decade, and it’d never been this powerful, this all-consuming both physically and mentally. Yeah, he had a hard on that threatened to test the seams of his jeans, but whatever this emotion was, it was something more than sexual need. With Fallon, he was vulnerable, exposed in a way he’d never allowed himself to be with another living soul. It was liberating and fucking terrifying.
I feel like a new man. One born with a new purpose to secure the future for my daughter, and to protect and adore my woman. Those were protective instincts he hadn’t been aware he possessed for any woman other than his sister.
The song was about Fallon. Wild and jangled, and soft and soothing, labeling the varied ways she affected him.
All day he’d struggled to get into his groove, to find the beats they needed for the new album, and he’d failed his band mates. He’d found his muse in a redheaded woman that tangled up his emotions in a jumble of confusion. Uncertain what he wanted for his future, he knew he wanted more from her than a quick roll in the sheets.
She tilted her head and when she spoke, her lips brushed against his temple. “That was erotic.”
Big time! Best foreplay ever. His erection had to be evident against her bottom.
No. This hadn’t been just foreplay. It’d been a connection of spirits, crafted from music. That was better than the best sex he’d ever experienced, with one exception. The sole night he’d spent with Fallon qualified as the best sexual moment of his entire life.
“If I look at you right now I won’t be able to stop myself from pressuring you, Fallon.” Just a taste, a small taste. He could survive off that, right? Parting his mouth, he licked her skin. Bad mistake. Her salty flavor coated his tongue like a triple-shot of pheromones. Now he wanted an even bigger taste, preferably with his tongue between her legs until she was squirming and coming in his mouth.
Curling his fingers into his palms, he stamped them on
her hips so he wouldn’t drag her beneath him.
One of the drumsticks thumped against his boot and the other thudded against the carpet. Fallon twisted to face him.
Self-preservation had him catching her face between his palms, an inhalation away from her lips bonding with his. “If you kiss me, I’ll fuck you on this bench. You deserve better than that.”
“Maybe I don’t want better than that.”
No way in hell she meant that. He knew she couldn’t because she had no goddamn clue how hard he could fuck her. “Don’t tempt me, darlin’. I’m trying to be honorable.”
Unaccustomed to denying his desires, his abs vibrated with his struggle.
“You are an honorable man, Jase.”
If she only knew all the shit he’d done, she wouldn’t think that.
“That’s something I’ve never been accused of being.” Trying to play it cool, he released his hold on her face and prayed she’d behave. Resisting her would be impossible. He bracketed his hands on either side of the bench behind him. It should feel like a relaxed pose, but his muscles were tense by her nearness, ready for action. The discomfort of his erection and her scent drove him fucking insane with need, and he suffered all the jitteriness of a hooker dodging an undercover officer on the strip.
“Why do you believe the bad so easily, but not the good?”
He knew himself. Honor wasn’t in his DNA. “You’re allowing the music to pilot your desires, Fallon.”
Music was a powerful instrument.
She put a knee on the seat between his legs and leaned toward him. “A dishonorable man would’ve fucked me on this bench.”
Hearing the word ‘fucked’ come out of her chaste mouth…he almost came in his jeans like a pubescent newbie. That’s the effect she has on me. He sat up and buried his hand in her hair, drawing her toward him until their mouths skimmed. When she attempted to snag a deeper kiss, he used her locks to hold her away. Until Fallon, he’d never considered teasing someone in any sexual way.
“I want to bend you over this bench and fuck you from behind. Hard. Balls deep inside you.” He nipped her bottom lip and heard her gasp at the sharp sting his teeth caused. “Hard enough you’re begging me to fuck you harder, harder, harder you’ll scream. And hard enough I’ll have you begging me to stop because your body’s so confused you don’t know what you want. So hard you’d feel it for days. How’s that for honorable?”
“I felt it for days after you fucked me last time.”
“Goddamn it, Fallon! Don’t say shit like that.”
“I saw what you did for me.” Uncertain of what she referred to, he elevated his eyebrows. “Punched the reporter.”
“Ah…” That’s what this is about, a thank you fuck for defending her. Those actions of his were negligible. And he validated his response by the rationalization that the reporters had it coming for harassing her like an angry mob.
“I heard the statement you gave to the press.” She laced her fingers together behind his neck.
“No one fucks with my family.”
“Admit it.” She Eskimo kissed him. The affectionate move cracked the tight edges of his restraint. “At heart you’re an honorable man, Jase.”
“I’m every bit of the asshole the press paints me as.” He used her hair to tug her head away before he caved to his desires and kissed her like he wanted. Because if he kissed her, it’d be the precursor move to banging her on the bench, and he wouldn’t stop until she was crying his name and climaxing beneath him, with her cunt fisting his cock.
“No one has ever defended me like that.”
“That’s hard to believe after the way your dad was in my face defending you.” Everyone deserved a champion, especially his girls.
“Nope.” When she met his eyes straight on, he knew whatever she’d say next would most likely piss him off. “My parents wanted me to get an abortion.” His grip in her hair tightened, and his other hand fisted against his thighs. Motherfuckers. That they wanted her to murder his daughter did nothing to improve his opinion of her family. “When I refused, they recommended I consider putting her up for adoption. When I made it clear I couldn’t give away my baby, regardless how difficult our future would be financially, Mom and Dad let me know they support my decision, even if they didn’t agree with it. But they weren’t in any way financially able to help us. They didn’t say they wouldn’t help, but I knew they couldn’t. Dad lost his job, and Mom’s job at the bank barely pays the bills now. In this high unemployment market, Dad’s age doesn’t help his job-hunt. So I didn’t ask for anything, and they never offered help.”
“I’d say I’m sorry, but it’d be a lie. I am sorry your parents had to watch you struggle.” Jase knew that couldn’t have been easy.
She inclined her head in agreement, while a devilish grin teased the corners of her mouth. “You’re the drummer of a band with so-so music—”
“Real classy criticizing my livelihood.” He teased with a mock tsk-tsk.
“—but I’ve seen the admirable side you withhold from the press. Committing to a relationship with you terrifies me. Makes me vulnerable to pain, but I don’t think you can hurt me more than the rest of the world has. I don’t have a lot of faith in people, Jase, but you…” She shook her head like she couldn’t figure something out. “You offer to protect me, take care of me, and demand nothing in return. I don’t know how to accept that without my pride taking a beating.”
Jase held his breath. He hoped she was saying what he thought she was. “Is this you agreeing to be my girl?”
“This is me agreeing to give you a chance. You wanna call it being your girl, then yeah. But if you break my heart, at least I can say I lived. Can tell Faith we tried.”
She looked so defenseless, like this was the biggest decision of her life. He knew sure as fuck it was one of the biggest moments of his life.
He shifted her to straddle his lap, not for any sexual favors, but because he wanted her closer to him. Staring into her eyes, he tucked strands of her hair behind one of her ears, while holding her in place with his other hand on her lower back, his fingers spread wide. “So…this is me getting my way once again.”
She grinned, and he knew she caught on to yesterday when she’d asked if he was ever disappointed by not getting his way. “Seems that way.”
I’m a lucky bastard. He’d done nothing to deserve the blessings he was receiving, but that didn’t mean he’d shun them either. “This means I get to tell the interviewer tomorrow that you’re mine?”
“Yeah.” He heard the tremble in her voice.
“If you’re unsure about your decision, I—”
“No…yes.” She gripped his shoulders with one hand and slid the fingers of her other hand into his hair. “I’m scared. I feel like I have more to lose than you, but not giving you a chance scares me more.”
“Focus on today without any expectation for tomorrow, darlin’.” He didn’t get her fear. Life was about risks, and each life-altering move was a gamble on any given day. “Sleep with me tonight.” At her expression of surprise, he clarified, “Not sex. God knows I want to be inside you again, but not tonight. Tonight I just want to hold you. That kind of sleep.”
She nodded.
Oh, yeah, he was a lucky fucker.
At the soft rap on his door, Jase called out, “Come in.” He paused the TV show as the door swung open to reveal Fallon. A white cotton nightgown covered her from neck to ankles. It was sexy in a prudish sort of way. Where’d she buy something so modest anyway? He’d ensure she never visited that store again. “This is what you wear to bed?”
Fallon fisted the garment at her hips. “It was either this or going naked.”
“I prefer naked.” He threw back the covers and slid out of his bed.
Her lips parted on a silent gasp when she spied his nudity.
“I sleep naked, darlin’. I hope that’s not a problem for you.”
By the gape she wore, she was shocked if nothing else. He opene
d a drawer and withdrew a t-shirt. As he strode toward her, her gaze traveled his physique. He thought her eyes widened a fraction when she got a good look at his semi-erect status. He couldn’t help it. Dressed like a schoolgirl at a nunnery, she still affected him. Even after giving himself the five-finger hand job in the shower so he could only ‘sleep’ with her, he still wanted her. She was the drug he couldn’t get enough of.
He halted in front of her. “You like what you see?”
Her gaze ripped off his mouth and hit his eyes. “I don’t know how to play these sexual games, Jase.”
“No games, Fallon, just honesty between us.” He threw his shirt over his shoulder and released the three buttons of her nightgown. “When I stripped you yesterday, I very much liked what I saw.” His finger executed swishing motions along her neck and gooseflesh erupted to prickle his fingertips. Oh, yeah, her swift, honest reaction stoked his ego. “I need some skin-to-skin contact tonight.” Every night. “While I prefer you naked, I’m guessing that’s a step you’re not ready for.” He took a step back and offered her his t-shirt. “You’ll look fucking hot wearing this.”
Fallon’s throat bobbed when she swallowed hard.
“I won’t fuck you tonight, darlin’.” Soon I will, missionary, doggie, in the shower with his hands sliding over her wet satiny skin…He gave a mental groan and shook the naughty imaginations aside. They’d derail his good intentions if he continued along this course of thought.
“I almost wish you would.” Her hands were trembling when she accepted the garment from him. She turned her back and pulled her gown over her head. He thought he heard her mutter, “At least then I’d be able to concentrate on something else.”
Her panties were pink, satiny, and skimpy. Nothing innocent about them. Thank fuck.
She tossed her nightgown on the floor, but he halted her efforts to pull his shirt on. Moving in behind her, he wrapped his arms around her waist, dipping his head to kiss her shoulder. He caressed her skin with the graze of his lips back and forth. “I can eliminate your need without fucking you.”
“Only if I get to eliminate your need too.” She ground her bottom against his pelvis.
Lost in the Beat Page 15